Solwezi

Overview

The most interesting thing about Solwezi was the copper mine up the road in Kansanshi. This had been discovered by the Arabs centuries ago, when it was a kopje (a small hill) and had had seams of malachite (a green stone, very rich in copper). When the mine was re-opened in the 1970s, it was still possible to see where the Arabs had had their African slaves follow the seams of malachite down into the hill side, and the locations where the ore had been ground (again by slaves) before being smelted. The Arabs had left behind their usual traces such as fig trees, which are definitely not indigenous in this part of Africa.

Today the kopje is long since gone (mined away completely). 

History